ATHABASCA — Athabasca County's Policy 3200 Residential Driveway Snowplowing Program isn’t new, but a recent decision to start charging seniors for snowplowing flags and requiring them to place them at the end of the driveway, is.
It’s the flags which have caught the attention of county residents Ken and Jackie Jorgensen who feel the policy should be rescinded until a better method is in place.
“The fact that they're asking seniors to walk out on a snow-filled driveway, to the top of their driveway and put out a flag and then phone the county office and tell them they want their driveway done,” Jackie said. “And then the snowplow operator has to stop and pick up that flag and take it back to the county office.”
If the senior lives along a country road they don’t have to call in the flag has been placed, but the Jorgensens, like many others, have their driveway coming off a numbered provincial highway, meaning Athabasca County grader operators wouldn’t otherwise see their flag as they don’t snowplow highways.
“I told them they should rescind this decision for this year and give people a chance to get ready to buy a blade for your tractor, buy a blade for your quad, arrange for someone else to do your snow,” said Jackie. “We have because we were scared of sitting here. Two years ago, Ken had (health issues) and there is no way that an ambulance could have got in our driveway last winter.”
Reeve Brian Hall said the actual timing of snowplowing never changed, it has always been stipulated it is after all how the Athabasca County roads on the grader operators' route are done, then they can go back and clear any driveways.
“For clarity, residential driveways are not cleared on demand, on this there has been no change,” he said in an Oct. 12 e-mail to the Jorgensens. “Timing of residential plowing is outlined in Policy 3200, part 4(b) ‘The driveway will be plowed only after the plowing of roadways in the area is complete. Depending on weather conditions, several days may lapse before the driveway is plowed. Landowners requiring more immediate service are encouraged to contact a private contractor to make alternate arrangements.’”
In an Oct. 22 interview Hall added the county is looking at electronic flagging meaning anyone who wants the county to clear their driveway just calls in, pays via credit card and their land will be tagged via GPS for the area grader operator.
"I'm quite hopeful that that it will be in place before we see any significant amount of snowfall," he said. "But the first step is really taken already and that's to do all hold harmless agreements so we know where we need to be going. There were situations in the past, where operators were plowing driveways for a couple of years after somebody had moved to the Pleasant Valley (Lodge), because they never been told that. The county was unaware the person had moved and that's not a good use of resources."
At the Sept. 28 Athabasca County council meeting where the revamped policy was approved by a 5-4 vote, it was noted there are driveways where the grader is almost too big to get down, or there’s little area for the grader to turn around in the yard and that all poses risks to the machinery, the operator, and the resident’s property so maybe the jobs should be done by private contractors with smaller equipment.
The Jorgensens, however, don’t think privatization is the answer either.
“They have a lot of excuses, and the fact of the matter is they want to abdicate (responsibility),” said Jackie. “And (a source) actually told me last year that they were thinking of cancelling the program, just so I would know, and I said, ‘Alright, that's a real shame.’”
The letter stating the policy change showed up Oct. 3, said Jackie.
“You get one month's notice before snowfall, that you're going to have to make arrangements,” she said.
And while the Jorgensens have opted to hire a private contractor, they know several seniors who live on their own with mobility issues who could be at risk of falling if they try to place a flag out.
“There's lots of seniors out there totally unaware that there's not going to be any driveway clearing,” Jackie said. “And if they don't go and do the hold harmless and go through this rigmarole, they're not going to get the grader coming.”
Living along a highway, the Jorgensens are hopeful if one of them falls someone will notice them, but what if it is a senior on a remote back road they wonder.
“Why put a policy in place that forces this issue to be an issue?” asked Jackie.
Hall, however, is hopeful the electronic flagging will be up and running before there’s too much snow on the ground and any perceived issue will be resolved.
The Jorgensens would like any seniors who have concerns about the new flags to also contact their division councillor which can be done by leaving a message at the administration office or their email addresses can be found online at athabascacounty.com.
